70,000,000 people deadLet’s see, that includes men, women, children, fetuses in the womb, mentally and physically deficient individuals, and a host of Iranians who admire the U.S., not to mention visitors who happened to be in Iran when shock and awe occurs, along with anyone in Turkey standing too near its border with Iran. Now wouldn’t that be a kick in the head?

2.5 million barrels of oil a day removed from world marketsOfficially, the U.S. doesn’t purchase oil from Iran, but the rest of the world certainly does. If that supply disappeared, the price of gasoline at the pump would soar, reaching stratospheric heights. Only the top millionaires will be able to afford a tank of gas. Or food. Remember Soylent Green?

Destruction, among others, of the economy of JapanA strong ally of the U.S., Japan relies on Iran for a substantial portion of its oil purchases. You don’t imagine that it’s primary imports are Persian rugs, do you? Unless, of course, they’ve figured out a way to convert them to energy. Those Japanese are wily folk. They’re capable of anything. They destroyed the American automobile market by producing cars that actually didn’t collapse within the first month or so of purchase. Who woulda thunk of a crackpot idea like that?

Collapse of the world food marketCrops are fertilized with oil-based products. Without those aids to growth, crop yields per acre will fall dramatically, as crops require longer growing seasons to produce stunted versions of today’s robust varieties. Hark back to Soylent Green. Your next meal could be a Hillary Burger. Or, hopefully, a Bush Steak.

Collapse of the American economySuffice to say, when the leading economic powers of the world lose purchasing power, American exports will shrink with disastrous effects on American jobs, already decimated by the influx of foreign labor and the movement of American industries to cheap-labor countries. Oh, I forgot, America is a cheap-labor country, isn’t it?

Nuclear RetaliationIran’s location in the Middle East puts it in proximity to nuclear powers such as Pakistan, India, China, and Russia. Those countries may feel threatened by the U.S. and decide on their own version of preemption. Moreover, Iran is a Muslim country. The obliteration of 70,000,000 Muslims would certainly ignite a tinderbox of resentment with disastrous consequences for the U.S.

Hillary’s RationaleWas Hillary serious when she uttered her rash statement on national television? Or was she merely resorting to the est school of political campaigning, the greatest, the biggest, the most superlative, the mother of all whatevahs, kick ass, obliterate? Or was her intent to demonstrate that she can play with the best of the big boys and even beat them at their own testicular-engorged game? My missile is longer than yours, pal. Here, I’ll show you.

Naturally, she’ll garner a goodly number of votes in upcoming caucuses and primaries because of her statement. The United States is populated by a surplus of the “kill ’em all” school of foreign policy. From the standpoint of sheer effective political tactics, she did good.

But…?

After thinking about this for awhile, I’m still trying to understand her rationale. Why would she claim that she will go to such extreme lengths? To the best of my knowledge, no other high-level politician of either party would publicly subscribe to a view of the world so outside the pale as to border on lunacy. Surely, it’s just a jest.

Apocalypse Now?In the long run, cooler heads will prevail. My guess is that Hil’s strategists are searching for a spin to minimize any damages. More than likely, the parsers will appear in the light of day and say something like, “What she really meant was…”

All will be well, despite my dire predictions. Relax. It’s only politics, folks.